Letter: Listening to our students

According to The Ranger, 68 percent of our students preferred a paper text to an etext, and my students were of the same opinion.

Some of my students are very computer savvy, but many others are not. For example, I used to give all of my students a paper copy of my course syllabus. They could refer to it whenever they wished. But now that we are a paperless college, they must go to the esyllabus.

Last semester, according to a poll taken at the end of my classes, only 29 percent of my students accessed the esyllabus.

I fear that a similarly small percentage of students will use the etext, which, of course, will adversely affect student outcomes.

If we are really here for our students, why do we not listen to them?

I posed that very question to the ACCD vice chancellor for academic success in an email dated Feb. 10 but have received no reply.

Thomas M. Settles, Ph.D.

Professor of History

Editor’s note:This letter was sent Feb. 27 to all nine trustees. The writer said none have responded.